It is not a legal requirement to have a Will. However, having one ensures that your wishes are carried out as you would like and your estate is distributed to your intended beneficiaries when you have passed away. This is particularly important if you:

• Are not married
• Have young children
• Own a business
• Own property or other significant assets

A Will is the best way to make sure that your wishes are fulfilled. You are able to:

• Name your Executors, i.e. those who will deal with your estate once you have passed away
• Nominate your beneficiaries, i.e. those who will receive benefit from you estate. This could be family members, friends, charities or other organisations
• Appoint guardians for any young children
• Detail your funeral plans.

If you die without a Will, the laws of ‘Intestacy’ will apply. These are rules set out by the courts that direct how a person’s estate should be administered and distributed in the absence of a Will. This could lead to unintended consequences such as:

• The courts deciding who should take responsibility for young children
• Intended beneficiaries not receiving what you would like them to
• Unfavoured relatives or business associates receiving some of your estate and gaining control over your assets
• Potentially costly, lengthy and unnecessary court proceedings for your loved ones who are left to deal with your estate.

Someone is able to make a Will when they are over the age of 18.  Some people do not make a Will until certain life events occur like:

• Getting married of divorced
• Buying or acquiring a property
• Have children
• Own their own business.

However, it is a firm belief at RTB Wills & Estate Planning solutions that you should not wait to make a Will! Once in written, a Will should be kept under regular review and can always be amended or re-written to coincided with life events.

Your estate consists of everything you own. This includes money, investments, property, business interests and personal possessions. It also includes any liabilities that you have such as a mortgage or any other personal debts.

A Will must be in writing and signed by you as the person making the Will. Two or more witnesses are also required who must also sign the Will although the witnesses do not have to know a Wills contents.

There re is no set format of a Will and in theory could be handwritten on a scrap of paper and be valid provided in meets the required formalities. This is not something that is recommended though and you should always seek the guidance of a professional such as RTB Wills & Estate Planning Solutions to ensure that your Will is drafted appropriately. 

A Trust is a legal arrangement where someone looks after and manages an asset such as cash or a property for example for the benefit of another person or persons. There are two important roles to understand:

Trustee – the person or persons that legally own an asset held by the Trust. A Trustee has the job to run the trust and make sure that any trust property is looked after properly.

Beneficiary – the person or persons who receives the benefit of the assets held by the trust. For example, Trustees may own a property and the beneficiary receives the benefit of being able to live there.

Trusts can be set up at any time during your life or written in to your Will. There are various types of Trust that can be used depending how you want your assets to be controlled and how you might want any beneficiaries to benefit. 

As well as the various legal requirements that need to take place to ensure a Trust arrangement is effective, there are also potential tax implications that may arise as result. RTB Wills & Estate Planning Solutions suggest that you speak to an expert like ourselves for further guidance. 

A Power of Attorney is a legal document that appoints someone, known as your ‘Attorney’, to make decisions on your behalf when you are not able to.

It may be on a temporary basis if you know you are going into hospital for example and might need some assistance with certain tasks whilst you recover. Or it may be on a more permanent basis because you have lost mental or physical capacity.

Accidents or illnesses can impact anyone at any age and often without warning. For this reason, a Lasting Power of Attorney is an essential legal document for anyone to put in place and you should not wait to do it.

In addition, you can only put Lasting Powers of Attorney in place whilst you have capacity to understand that nature and the impact of the documents. If you wait until it is needed, you will find that it is too late to put the powers in place.

There are two main types of Lasting Powers of Attorney:

Health & Care – this lets your Attorney or Attorneys make decisions about your medical treatment and day-to-day care. 

Property & Finance – this lets your Attorney or Attorneys make decisions about your finances and property.

A further Business Power of Attorney can also be created if you run a business and this lets your Attorney or Attorney’s make decisions and carry out actions concerning your business activities.

If someone was required to manage your affairs in the future, the only option would be to apply for a ‘Deputyship’ order through the courts. The process of applying for a ‘Deputyship’ order is often lengthy, costly and complex. Having Lasting Powers of Attorney in place not only represents a cost effective way to guard against this but the powers can take effect as soon as they are required.

You should choose someone that you are close to, a family member or trusted friend for example.  Whoever you choose though should be someone that you believe would make decisions in your best interests. You should also check that your chosen Attorney is someone who would be willing to take on the role as your Attorney as not everyone may be comfortable with the responsibility.

You are able to choose more than one Attorney. For example, if you are married and have adult children then choosing your spouse as well as your children as your Attorney’s may be a sensible idea. You can also appoint replacement Attorney’s should someone you’ve chosen becomes unable to act on your behalf.